Tobacco is an agricultural product from the Nicotiana genus, a popular commodity around the world. Once processed, tobacco can be consumed and used in medicine or pesticide composition. Conversely, the most popular use for tobacco is in the form of a drug. Tobacco contains a stimulant called alkaloid nicotine which temporarily improves either mental or physical functions or both. Tobacco smoking is one of the more prominent means of absorbing the stimulant in to the body in today's society. Tobacco smoking is the process of burning tobacco and inhaling the resultant smoke; various forms of smoking include cigars, cigarettes, and pipes. Flavor, strength, and quality are all determined by the quality and type of the tobacco leaves used. Generally the geographic vicinity, tobacco sort, and manufacturing processes all play a major role in determining the quality of the smoke. Additionally, a major component that is crucial to the quality of tobacco leaves is the storage and transportation methods. Tobacco leaves are very sensitive to moisture and liquid substances which give off pungent or penetrating odors. In wet and or humid conditions tobacco leaves begin to absorb the water yielding conditions that are perfect for mold growth and subsequent fermentation; this leads to a lower quality product.
Unmanufactured tobacco leaves are traditionally transported in large containers such as 20 or 40 foot trailers in the form of large bales. The size and carrying capacity of such bales are limited due to the sensitive nature of the tobacco leaves. Various precautions are taken to prevent the leaves from fermenting, breaking, or altering in anyway. Precautions include temperature and humidity control, weather proof trailers, surface covers under the bales, and bale size limitations. Larger bale size lead to humidity differences between the leaves in the center and the outer perimeter, if the bale size exceeds a certain size mold will begin to grow in the inner layers of the bale. Additionally, because of the delicate nature of the leaves bales can not be stacked on top of each other which lead to a single level of bales distributed about the floor of the storage/transportation container leaving a substantial amount of space within the container empty. The present invention allows for containers to carry more than one layer of product, doubling the efficiency of the process; and saving money, effort, and time.